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The Tom Hill Archives

The Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium presents the musings and reflections of Tom Hill. We think it's great that Tom, who has sampled so many wines, has shared his tasting notes with us. We do have, or have had for sale a few of the wines Tom writes about, and we include a link to our stock page whenever it is a producer we carry (but since the stock page is kept up-to-date and the wines are sold, don't expect any but the newest of wines to show up in our stock!). Mostly though, since we specialize in County of Santa Barbara Wine and Central Coast Wine, we don't carry a lot of the wines Tom writes about. But we think it is important that you be able to have an idea what they're like in case you are planning to buy some somewhere, or have them in your own collection. Enjoy.

Here are Tom's notes from July 28, 2004:

Grenache, Petite Sirah, Grenache Blends

We tried last night some Grenache/PetiteSirah/Grenache Blends:
  1. Eagle Point Ranch Winery Mendocino County Grenache (14.1%; www.EaglePointRanch.com) 2003: Light color; rather grapey/fruity some bright/strawberry/Grenache slight earthy nose; tart/ bright fruity/grapey attractive cherry/strawberry/Grenache slight earthy/tomatoey flavor; med.short grapey/fruity light strawberry/Grenache finish w/ light tannins; a lovely/ frivolous Beaujolais-style wine at a more than fair price. $16.00
  2. Ridge Calif Lytton Estate Grenache (12% Petite Sirah, 10% Zin; 14.4%; 52 brls; Drk: 3/08-3/10) 2001: Med.color; some Ridge/perfumed/toasty slight strawberry/fruity rather closed nose; very attractive cherry/strawberry/Grenache/fruity slight toasty/oak bit bitter flavor; long quite hard/tannic some strawberry/cherry/Grenache some oak/toast finish; needs some age; not much of a nose but very nice flavors; rather brutally tannic on the palate. $24.00
  3. Kaena Grenache Santa Ynez Valley (13.9%) 2001: Med.color; attractive/bright strawberry/Grenache peppery/spicy light toasty/oak nose; tart quite tannic attractive strawberry/Grenache bit bitter/hard flavor; long rather hard/tannic peppery/spicy/strawberry/Grenache slight oak/ pungent finish; lovely perfumed Grenache nose but pretty tannic; needs some age. $27.00
  4. Jaffurs Santa Barbara County Grenache Stolpman  Vineyard (14.4%; 16% Syrah) 2002: Med.color; loads of bright/strawberry/Grenache/cherry/fruity slight peppery light oak nose; tart very bright strawberry/Grenache/Nehi strawberry soda light peppery/oak/toast bit tannic flavor; very long bright strawberry/Grenache some spicy/peppery finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; tons of bright strawberry/Grenache character. $27.00
  5. Sierra Vista El Dorado RW Fleur De Montagne (13.9%; EB; Syrah/Grenache+Mourvedre/ Cinsault) 2002: Med.dark color; rather earthy/mushroomy/ElDoradoCnty bit spicy/blackberry pleasant nose; attractive bright fruit/strawberry/Grenache/blackberry rather hard/bitter/ tannic flavor; hard/tannic long some strawberry/Grenache finish; needs some age; nose becomes very fragrant/floral/violets with air; seems a bit bigger & harder than previous FdMs; attractive wine. $21.00
  6. Sierra Vista Sierra Foothills Syrah-Grenache (www.Sierra VistaWinery.com; 13.9%) 2001: Med. dark color; slight musty/funky (corked?) some blackberry/Syrah bit earthy/mushroomy nose; tart bit blackberry/Syrah/cola slight earthy/funky bit lean/closed/hard flavor; long hard/ tannic slight musty/earthy some blackberry/dusty flavors; some thought it a bit corked but I thought it just a bit funky; attractive flavors in a somewhat Rhonish style. $22.00
  7. Ridge Calif  Syrah/Grenache Lytton Estate  Vineyard Dry Creek Valley (50%/50%; 14.8%; 51 brls; Drk: 3/08-3/13) 2001: Med.dark color; rather dusty some toasty/oak strong licorice/blackberry/ Syrah some spicy/Zin-like very attractive/perfumed nose; more lush blackberry/Syrah/ boysenberry/Dr.Pepper/cola somewhat complex slight pungent/toasty/licorice flavor; long blackberry/boysenberry/cola/Syrah light toasty/oak/licorice finish w/ fair tannins; much smoother/lusher tannins than the Grenache; needs some 3-5 yrs of age; lovely red. $28.00
  8. Turkey Flats Vineyards the turk Barossa Valley (43% Shiraz, 40% Grenache, 10% Cabernet, 7% Mourvedre; 14.5%; www.TurkeyFlat.com.Au) 2002: Dark color; strong blackberry/black cherry cola/RCCola fragrant some vanilla/oak quite Oz nose; soft ripe/lush licorice/black cherry cola/RCCola some tannic some vanilla/oak flavor; long licorice/spicy/black cherry cola loads of pungent fruit finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; quite a nice Oz-style red at a very good price; blows away the MarquisPhillips at this price. $16.00
  9. Andrew Murray Vineyards Esperance (40% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 30% Syrah; EstateGrown; 14.5%) 2002: Dark color; very intense/raging volatility/EA/fumey slight black cherry/ licorice nose; tart quite hot/fumey some blackberry/black cherry/licorice flavor; long burning/fumey/hot some licorice/blackberry finish; smells more like a LateHrvst Zin than a Rhone-style; the raging volatile consumes everything in this wine, alas. $22.00
  10. Brunier Domaine du Vieux Telegraph CdP "LeCrau" (14%) 2001: Med.light color; slight earthy/ CdP somewhat strawberry/fruity/Grenache rather pretty nose; soft light earthy/CdP somewhat strawberry/Grenache/cherry bit simple flavor; med.long pretty Grenache/strawberry finish w/ light tannins; a pretty Calif-style Grenache but simple & lacks intensity & structure; sure don't see any future for this wine. Way overpriced at $42.00.
  11. Robert Biale Vineyards Napa Valley Petite Sirah Thomann Station (15.3%; 2'nd Vintage) 2001: Very dark color; incredibly corked & undrinkable. $40.00
  12. Eagle Point Ranch Winery Mendocino County Petite Sirah (14.5%) 2002: Black color; rather toasty/ smoky/Am.oaked strong blackberry/peppery quite spicy/perfumed slight earthy/dusty nose; rich/lush Am.oaked/vanilla/smoky beppery/blackberry/Dr.Pepper/Dad'sRootBeer/cola quite fragrant/spicy flavor; rather tannic strong Am.oak/vanilla very spicy/peppery/blackberry/ cola/Dr.Pepper; big rough/rustic but lots of spict fruit for Petite Sirah; some like the (very) early Fetzers and Milanos w/o the overwhelming oak; maybe Casey's best wine yet; lovely Petite Sirah for a very good price. $24.00
  13. Carlisle Sonoma County Three Birds RW (15.7%; 61% Unti Vineyard/Grenache, 31% Unti Vineyard/Mourvedre, 8% DelCarloRanch/Syrah) 2002: Med.dark color; very fragrant/perfumed quite spicy/Zin-like/blackberry/raspberry/strawberry slight toasty/charred/oak nose; tart lush very spicy/blacberry/raspberry/strawberry light toasty/vanilla/oak quite perfumed balanced flavor; long bright/floral/strawberry/blackberry/raspberry light toasty/pungent/ oak finish w/ some tannins; a really lovely/balanced red almost in the style of a Nalle; for drinking near term, great price at $22.00.
  14. Domaine du Clos des Fees Cotes du Roussillon Villages Vieilles Vignes (14.5%; 15%; 50-100 yr old Carignan & Grenache+Syrah & Lladoner Pelut) 2002: Very dark color; very peppery rather earthy/black cherry/Carignane dusty/old vines light toasty/smoky/oak slight coffee/ roasted rather interesting nose; tart hard/tannic black cherry/Carignane rather earthy/ dusty/old vines strong charred/oak flavor; long hard/tannic black cherry dusty/earthy charred/oak finish w/ ample tannins; needs much age but it's a gamble; overpriced at $42.00.
  15. Edna Valley Vineyard Paragon Central Coast Syrah (13.6%) 2002: Dark color; very interesting toasty/ charred/smoky complex very fragrant/blackberry/Syrah slight herbal (Monterey contribution?) some gamey/sauvage nose; tart quite tobaccoy/charred/oak/toasty strong gamey/Syrah/black berry slight earthy/herbal flavor; med.long charred/toasty/oak/roasted strong blackberry/ Syrah finish w/ some tannins; can use a yr or two; lots of oak but a very tasty red at a very attractive price. $14.00/Dotty mystery wine
  16. Domaine de Pesquier Gigondas (14%) 1999: Med.light color; rather bretty somewhat earthy/ CdP dusty somewhat old/complex/aged nose; tart lean/bit dried out/tired somewhat funky/ rustic/bretty aged/earthy little fruit flavor; med.long bretty dried out/tired earthy/ dusty finish w/ little tannins; old before its time & rather tired. $23.00/SteveCostigan mystery wine.
  17. J.F.Fayel Les  Mugues Balandran Costieres de Nimes (14%) 2001: Med.dark color; strong strawberry/Grenache fragrant slightly earthy/CdP nose; soft quite lush strawberry/Grenache/ raspberry/Zin-like slight earthy flavor; med.long pretty/Grenache/strawberry light earthy finish w/ light tannins; much like a lesser CdP; pretty wine at an attractive price. $16.00/ Larry's mystery wine.
  18. Salvador Poveda DOC Alicante Muscat (15%; Moscatel Romano) NV: Med.light brown color; intense Muscat quite orange blossom/fragrant/perfumed/erotic quite complex nose; soft very sweet raisened/perfumey/muscatty/orangey some vanilla/oaked complex flavor; very long/ soft very sweet intense orangey/muscatty/maple syrup/raisened light vanilla/oak complex finish; a beautiful/complex dessert wine at a steal of a price. $14.00
And a few gems delivered from the BloodyPulpit:
  1. Eaglepoint Grenache: Casey's first one I tried was the '02 and I was blown away by it loads of bright/exhuberent/juicy fruitiness. This '03 version to not shown quite that same amount of juicy fruit, a bit more Mendocino character, and more along the lines of a Beaujolais w/ its earthiness. Still a pretty tasty/easy-drinking wine.
  2. Kaena: This was my first wine from this producer. Winemaker is Mikael Sigouin, asst winemaker for Steve Beckmen. Only tiny amounts produced, presumably from Beckmen fruit. Also has a Syrah I've not yet had. The Grenache is quite different in style from the Beckmens; not that lush juicy fruitiness that Steve's wines show. The name immediately grabbed my attention as there is a Jean-Francois Sigouin who I've watched who happens to be one of Quebec's top-notch epeeists. Don't know if they're related or not.
  3. Ridge Syrah/Grenache: A new ATP wine for Ridge. One of the best ATP wines I can recall from the '01 vintage. I see comments from time-to-time that Ridge is not making the quality of wines they used to. I guess I've not seen any signs of slippage in any of the wines I've tasted. Many of the '01's weren't as intense as previous yrs, but that's more a reflection of the vintage to me. The '02 I've tried have all been pretty tasty. I occasionally hit an ATP wine that I don't find that exciting; but I think they've been quite consistent towards their vision of what Draper wants from his wines; even though John Olney and Eric Baugher have more responsibility for their winemaking than ever before. I just wish they'd go back to Mendocino and Amador for grapes again. Jeez...I'd even settle for a CoastRange PinotNoir again!!
  4. Andrew Murray: Eiyiyiyi....one of the most volatile/EA wines I've had from Andrew. He had a lot of problems like this w/ his '96 (or '97) ones, but I thought he'd licked that. It can only come from sloppy/inattentive winemaking. RO can do a pretty slick job on taking that VA out.
  5. Eaglepoint Petite: This was just btld back in June, so should still be recovering from btl shock. Whatever...the wine showed well enough for my group to order 2 cases, though it's not yet released. It shows lots of spicy fruit and great intensity w/o that coarsness that intense Petites often have. Maybe Casey's best wine yet.
  6. Carlisle Birds: Another Carlisle winner, though more restrained and less intense than many of Mike's wines. The 3 Birds refer to the three of them (Mike/Kendall/Jay) as graduates and strong supporters of the Claremont College MudHen's Football team, a recognized powerhouse in SoCal football.
  7. Clos des Fees: This is one of the cult wines coming out of the Sud France. The estate/ winemaker was featured in the latest (June/July) Decanter. Because of the price, I assume Arpy must have given it big scores. Like most of these cult wines from the Sud, they stand out in comparison to the rest of the wines from their areas. And like most, the prices can only be supported by their scarcity. The wine had the classic old-vine black cherry/Carignane character gobsmacked by a ton of new French oak. I was particularly interested in this wine because of the Lladoner Pelut contribution; which was, of course, obliterated by the oak, if it was ever there. Some sources describe that variety as Grenache-like, some as a Grenache clone, some as an indigeneous variety. Don't know the truth, though.
  8. Moscatel Romano: This is the Iberian name for Muscat of Alexandria nee Malaga nee Moscatel de Setubal (Portugal) nee Zibibbo (Italy) nee Lexia (Oz). It was obviously harvested very late, maybe made as a passito/dried grapes and obviously some time in barrel. Much better than any young Setubals I've had. A killer dessert wine. A stupid price. This is what I would put into the genre of Rancio wines. This was the classical/ traditional style of wine made in the Priorat until the genre was pretty much extinguished by the modern style/Arpy-annointed Grenaches now being made by BMW-driving noveau riche. Those Rancios could often be incredibly complex wines. Alas...no more..gone/gone. Let's hope Arpy never ventures into Alicante.
TomHill

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